Tiafoe Forehand

[arturohernandez]

I just saw Tiafoe miss an inside out forehand during the first set tiebreak against Dimitrov.

He seems to have something like a modern-modern forehand.

It's great when he has time and the is coming with topspin.

But once the ball varies or is very low then he is stuck and has to alter the entire swing to compensate.

Hi Everyone,

I have been intently watching Tiafoe. I think he has all the makings of a future top American player except for one thing; his Forehand.

I pasted the quote from above from another thread.

Seppi would simply trade forehands with him and eventually he would miss.

It almost seems to have too much topspin and breaks under pressure.

Could he actually tweak it to make it better?

or

Is it just too late and he is hamstrung for the rest of his career?

[johnyandell]

Have you looked at these?

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Francis_Tiafoe_HD_HS/

[doctorhl]

Does Tiafoe’s extreme grip make it difficult to make last minute adjustments to a ball ending slightly out of his strike zone? Extreme topspin has deadly consequences if ball is contacted out of the optimal strike zone. But Nadal doesn’t seem to have as much of a problem. Possible reasons? 1. Grip may not be as extreme 2. The path of his forward swing allows a bigger, optimal strike zone 3. His condioning and/ or perceptual judgement allows him to be in the right position more often for optimal contact. How would one tweak a Tiafoe forehand?

[don_budge]

Have you looked at these?

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members..._Tiafoe_HD_HS/

Wow...what a perspective. He looks like he is way past the backhand grip on the other side of the racquet. Is it western? More extreme?

[don_budge]

Have you looked at these?

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members..._Tiafoe_HD_HS/

https://www.tennisplayer.net/members/high_speed_archive/phantom/Francis_Tiafoe_HD_HS/index.html?dir=Forehand/FT_FH_Running&stroke=FT%20FH%20Running%20Rear%20240fps.mp4

Scary. Frightening.

[doctorhl]

I would try to make him dig some balls out of the dirt with that grip. Also, his hand travel distance for change to some kind of backhand grip must be huge(unless he goes the opposite direction).

[don_budge]

I would try to make him dig some balls out of the dirt with that grip. Also, his hand travel distance for change to some kind of backhand grip must be huge(unless he goes the opposite direction).

I'm watching Tiafoe against Grigor Dimitrov. Grigor manage to win the third set tie-break. Tiafoe is very unorthodox and a very difficult player to play against. He defies convention, the definition of unorthodox, and as a player it is very difficult to comprehend how the ball can come back with what he is putting on it. When looking across the net the forehand and serve are just plain unique so the opponent is frozen for a split second wondering just what was it that they just saw and the ball has so much pace on it...they are caught looking. Even the backhand is a little strange when you put it in the same bag with the odd forehand and serve.

He is unbelievably quick and again the opponent might be a little deceived how he trudges around the court in between points then he runs everything down when the ball is in play. He's a tough opponent to play and getting more difficult. On top of it all he seems to be using some theatrics to get into the heads of his opponents which further distracts them from the business at hand. Gamesmanship.

With the courts doctored and engineered to play like velcro it is really tough to get that ball to lay down and if it sits up a bit...good night. But that is an accurate assessment tactically to try and exploit the unorthodox nature of his stroke. Speed up the courts and downsize the racquets to bring the game back in line as it was originally intended to be played...or rather how it evolved until the engineering took over. Tennis metaphoring the world.

[stroke]

I would say his grip is way more extreme than Nadal, who to me is a semi, not western grip. Tiafoe looks to me to have an extreme almost Berasategui like Hawaiian grip on his forehand. even more extreme than Sock.

[stroke]

I'm watching Tiafoe against Grigor Dimitrov. Grigor manage to win the third set tie-break. Tiafoe is very unorthodox and a very difficult player to play against. He defies convention, the definition of unorthodox, and as a player it is very difficult to comprehend how the ball can come back with what he is putting on it. When looking across the net the forehand and serve are just plain unique so the opponent is frozen for a split second wondering just what was it that they just saw and the ball has so much pace on it...they are caught looking. Even the backhand is a little strange when you put it in the same bag with the odd forehand and serve.

He is unbelievably quick and again the opponent might be a little deceived how he trudges around the court in between points then he runs everything down when the ball is in play. He's a tough opponent to play and getting more difficult. On top of it all he seems to be using some theatrics to get into the heads of his opponents which further distracts them from the business at hand. Gamesmanship.

With the courts doctored and engineered to play like velcro it is really tough to get that ball to lay down and if it sits up a bit...good night. But that is an accurate assessment tactically to try and exploit the unorthodox nature of his stroke. Speed up the courts and downsize the racquets to bring the game back in line as it was originally intended to be played...or rather how it evolved until the engineering took over. Tennis metaphoring the world.

vs Dimitrov, Tiafoe's fh looked like a bigger weapon/fh than Grigor's. He appears to hold his racquet very low and loose on the grip and almost kind of dangles it around, throwing or slinging the racquet head into the ball. And I could do without the "theatrics". He is very fast, built like a world class sprinter. I doubt any player out there could beat him in a 60 yard dash.

[arturohernandez]

Watching against Nadal. He needs Lansdorp or a traditional coach. Nadal is munching on all his strokes. His forehand is so loopy. He can only push his return. He slices out of position. Athletically he is gifted. Technically without serious adjustment he will hover where he is. If I were his coach, I would hire someone like Brian Gordon to breakdown my biomechanics. Phil Jackson always said the Europeans had better fundamentals. Seems to be still mostly true.

[arturohernandez]

Does Tiafoe’s extreme grip make it difficult to make last minute adjustments to a ball ending slightly out of his strike zone? Extreme topspin has deadly consequences if ball is contacted out of the optimal strike zone. But Nadal doesn’t seem to have as much of a problem. Possible reasons? 1. Grip may not be as extreme 2. The path of his forward swing allows a bigger, optimal strike zone 3. His condioning and/ or perceptual judgement allows him to be in the right position more often for optimal contact. How would one tweak a Tiafoe forehand?

Maybe Tiafoe should try reversing his forehand. Seriously, his strike zone is very limited. Against Dimitrov who hits a less penetrating ball, I think he has time to hit. But Nadal was moving him all over the place and Nadal had no trouble putting the ball where he wanted to put it. Tiafoe was just unable to really create any kind of pace to bother Nadal.

Tiafoe made a few forays to the net but looked lost. Again a hindrance of the two hander is that often the volley and net game are lacking. He would need to work heavily on his slice like Nadal did. It would also help Tiafoe to play more doubles.

Tsitispas seems to be the heir apparent. Zverev won't make it to the very top unfortunately. Not able to dominate or impose his will in a five set match.

I think Shapovalov is more likely to go higher than Tiafoe. Just able to play more aggressively and attack.

Shapo's problem is that he lacks variety. He is like a roboplayer.

Maybe Tiafoe will take after Berastegui and win the FO.

[stroke]

Tiafoe is what he is. He could make a run at Major sometime. Obviously, he is not going to picking up the baton from someone. Tsitsipas does appear to be the heir. We are all on board there. He had a great match vs Fed. Nadal and Novak both bring other problems. Tsitsipas obviously has a Fed type game of the 3. It will be very interesting to see how he deals with Nadal and Novak. Medevev looked great until he faded bad vs Novak. He has a Novak type game. Tsitsipas does not have a Raonic serve, so he is going to have to beat them the hard way, grinding out a lot of service games.

[arturohernandez]

Tiafoe is what he is. He could make a run at Major sometime. Obviously, he is not going to picking up the baton from someone. Tsitsipas does appear to be the heir. We are all on board there. He had a great match vs Fed. Nadal and Novak both bring other problems. Tsitsipas obviously has a Fed type game of the 3. It will be very interesting to see how he deals with Nadal and Novak. Medevev looked great until he faded bad vs Novak. He has a Novak type game. Tsitsipas does not have a Raonic serve, so he is going to have to beat them the hard way, grinding out a lot of service games.

Tsitispas has his work cut out for him. It will be very interesting to see him play Novak, assuming that things turn out as we expect.

Back to Tiafoe, I am being too optimistic. Or I never played tennis for millions of dollars and won tournaments. But it seems that Nadal and Djokovic spent major time shoring up their weaknesses. They did not just sit around and accept being unable to do something.

They both can volley and slice. They worked a lot on their serves. Fed changed his racket.

Could Tiafoe change his forehand?

I know Tatjana Maria changed to a full one handed backhand but she is not at the very top so maybe not the same pressure.

Has any top pro retooled a stroke successfully?

[stroke]

Tsitispas has his work cut out for him. It will be very interesting to see him play Novak, assuming that things turn out as we expect.

Back to Tiafoe, I am being too optimistic. Or I never played tennis for millions of dollars and won tournaments. But it seems that Nadal and Djokovic spent major time shoring up their weaknesses. They did not just sit around and accept being unable to do something.

They both can volley and slice. They worked a lot on their serves. Fed changed his racket.

Could Tiafoe change his forehand?

I know Tatjana Maria changed to a full one handed backhand but she is not at the very top so maybe not the same pressure.

Has any top pro retooled a stroke successfully?

I do not think Stephanos will end up playing Novak in this tournament. I do not think he can beat Nadal at this time, but we will see. You are correct, Nadal and Novak have made subtle changes in their game, but I think a major overhall for the Tiafoe fh is not realistic.

[arturohernandez]

I do not think Stephanos will end up playing Novak in this tournament. I do not think he can beat Nadal at this time, but we will see. You are correct, Nadal and Novak have made subtle changes in their game, but I think a major overhall for the Tiafoe fh is not realistic.

Again, the importance of having someone create fluid strokes at an early age. Without a major overhaul to his FH, Tiafoe is stuck. Maybe he is that gifted athletically but I think he will continue to struggle against players that attack his forehand.